Some Canadian military search and rescue helicopter crews on the east coast have been temporarily relocated after asbestos dust was found in one of the buildings used by the squadron.

Crews from the 103 Search and Rescue Squadron have moved from 9 Wing Gander to St. John’s N.L. after asbestos was discovered in a hangar at the Gander facility, according to the Department of National Defence.

“Currently, CH-149 Cormorant crews are operating out of St John’s, N.L. using the Canadian Coast Guard hangar and the Air Reserve Flight Gander detachment facilities, which are in the same hangar at the St. John’s airport,” Department of National Defence spokesman Dan Le Bouthillier confirmed. He said no impact on search and rescue operations is anticipated.

Day-to-day maintenance is being conducted in St. John’s, and provisions are in place to ensure that sufficient maintenance on the fleet of CH-149 aircraft continues, he added. “Aircraft will be transferred between squadrons and an additional inspection will take place in Halifax to ensure the CH-149 fleet remains healthy,” Le Bouthillier explained.

The move comes after asbestos dust was discovered on various surfaces in the squadron’s Hangar 1 in Gander. The dust was found during an indoor air quality study.

“Once discovered, we immediately implemented the appropriate safety procedures from our asbestos management plan, which included informing all affected personnel,” said Le Bouthillier said. “Precautionary air quality testing was put in place as soon as possible, and results confirmed that while there is asbestos-containing dust on certain surfaces, it is not present in the air, and poses no health or safety risks to our personnel if left undisturbed.”

Air monitoring in Hangar 1 at Gander is being done twice a day and will continue until the asbestos can be dealt with. “We have developed a plan to safely remove the asbestos-containing dust from the hangar, which is expected to be implemented within the next two weeks,” Le Bouthillier said. “We are also conducting an investigation to determine other possible locations of asbestos-containing dust to ensure that it is not present beyond Hangar 1.”

Ongoing test results indicate that the asbestos-containing dust in Hangar 1 presents no health and safety risks to Department of National Defence and military personnel if left undisturbed, according to Le Bouthillier.